


"I'm so sorry Tony" "It wasn't your fault Bucky"

by JumpingJakeFlash



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AUish, Anti Steve Rogers, BAMF Maria Stark, BAMF Peggy Carter, BAMF Pepper Potts, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Howard Stark Is a Dick, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Kid Peter Parker, Kinda, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Stan Lee Cameo, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark-centric, Ultron and Clint are just mentioned, Uncle Nick Fury, i love Steve but not how he was in Civil War, only a lil bit, winteriron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 12:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17001267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JumpingJakeFlash/pseuds/JumpingJakeFlash
Summary: Tony hates December 16th, he slips out of the compound every year to go to his parents graves, Rhodey and Pepper follow him and bring Bucky with them





	1. The Graves

December 16th. Tony always hated this date. He hated the extra attention it brought to him, the fake sympathy that people laid upon him, only so they could brook a favour with him in future. He always slipped out of the compound at a godawful hour of the morning, when the rest of the Avengers were asleep and headed back to Stark Mansion to quietly lay flowers at their graves. He knew there’d be a big event the next day, commemorating the life and times of the great Howard Stark and his wife.  
Tony hated that, he hated that Maria, his mother, was nothing but a footnote to Howard and his death. He always tended to her grave more than Howard’s.

 

“I’m sorry mom, I’m sorry the last words we ever shared were in an argument” his voice was barely above a whisper “I’m sorry”. Tony felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Rhodey and Pepper stood behind him. “What are you two doing here?” he wasn’t angry, he was just curious

“Tones, do you really think you can sneak past JARVIS on this date without him telling us?” Rhodey’s face was etched with worry

“We didn’t want you to be alone Tony” Pepper and Tony had made their break permanent, but they would still both move mountains for each other.

Tony nodded and sniffed once. “Thank you” he whispered

“We’re not the only ones that came Tones” Rhodey stands aside to show Bucky Barnes.

 

Tony stands up and looks Bucky over, who was stood there nervously wringing his hands.

“Come on Pep lets go” Rhodey guides Pepper away, but not before Pepper gives Tony a kiss on the cheek

 

“I’m so sorry Tony” Bucky’s voice was hoarse

“It wasn’t your fault Bucky” Tony was quick to say “You didn’t kill them, the Winter Soldier killed them”

“I didn’t know, I didn’t remember anything. They… they wiped my memory every time I was unfrozen for a mission”

“I thought you said you remembered all of them?” Tony wasn’t angry, he was just speaking plainly  
Bucky flinched slightly at that and Tony immediately regretted saying it. “I said that…. I said it because it was what you wanted, no, needed to hear Tony. You were angry, and you were upset at Steve, and it was my fault. I thought…” he trails off slightly “I thought if you killed me it would help you heal” his voice was barely audible.

Tony immediately wanted to hug Bucky, the man who was the most feared assassin in living memory was in front of him, and he was crying. “I’m sorry for how I acted Bucky, I- it wasn’t you that I was mad at, I was more betrayed that Steve had kept the truth from me”

Bucky nods, wiping away a tear “Talia and I told him he should have told you before the Accords situation, but you know how stubborn he can be sometimes”

At that, both men laugh slightly and some of the awkwardness that had built up dissipated.

 

“What was Howard like, as a married man?” Bucky asked curiously

Tony’s smile slipped slightly “He- he wasn’t the Most Unexceptional. Nothing I could do was ever good enough for him. He drank too much and took his anger out on whatever or whoever was nearest. The only one he dared not raise a hand to was Aunt Peggy. He tried once but she left him with a black eye for two weeks, and that was when she was 62. But he loved us, in his own way”

“I’m sorry Tony, I only knew him briefly when he was part of the team that gave Steve the serum, and when I went to see him at a science fair before I was deployed”

“The flying car” Tony chuckles slightly

“What about Maria?”

“She was an angel. Made me the man I am today.” Tony hesitates slightly “I can show you what she was like”  
Bucky tilts his head curiously “How?”

“BARF, Binarily Augmented Retro-Framing. It hijacks the hippocampus and lets me show my memories”

“Are you sure about this?”

Tony nods “Yeah, come on”

 

Tony leads Bucky back to the compound and into his room “ready?”

“ready”


	2. The Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony show Bucky his memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of WinterIron fluff at the end for you all, next chapter should be up soon (don't hold me to that) and will be full of fluff (probably)
> 
> Also to any spanish speakers i may have reading this, if the little bit of spanish in here is disastrously wrong i do apologise, i used Google Translate (it's supposed to say "my dear" so if it needs correcting, feel free to let me know)

The scene shifted from Tony’s room to a room in Stark Mansion, the date could clearly be seen on the calendar on the wall. December 24th, 1988. An 18-year-old Tony could be seen animatedly talking to Maria about MIT and Rhodey, although he was lamenting the fact that Rhodey had gone off to join the Air Force. Maria looked like a literal angel, softly spoken and attentive.

 

“You care for Rhodes don’t you, _mi querido_?” Maria asks with a gentle smile

Young Tony nods “He doesn’t want anything from me, he just wants to be my friend”

“Everybody wants something Tony” Howard walks in and kisses Maria on the cheek politely “anyone who says they doesn’t is lying or a fool”

Young Tony sheepishly looks at the table “Sorry sir”

 

‘Old’ Tony was smiling sadly at the scene

“Tony?” Bucky looked concerned

“I’m alright Bucky”

“No you’re not, what’s wrong?”

Tony hesitates, “This is the last Christmas we all spend together. The next two I spent at the Rhodes household and well….” he trailed off but Bucky knew what he meant

“She looks beautiful Tony”

Tony chuckles slightly “She was, I like to think she’d be proud of what I did, of becoming Iron Man”

“I’m sure she would Tony, you are Earth’s Best Defender”

“Trademarked” he chuckles

 

The scene behind them changed, and suddenly they were at a funeral. Tony was only 21 in the scene, but he looked even older, losing his parents too young. Queues of mourners were lining up to offer their condolences to Tony

 

“I’m so sorry for your loss Mr Stark” a very younger looking Nick Fury (complete with two eyes) shook Tony’s hand before nodding at Peggy, who was stood to one side of Tony.  
An old man in aviators shook his head as he walked past the group “Such a waste”

 

Bucky noticed an unfamiliar looking bald man stood on the other side of Tony

“Who’s the bald guy?”

“Obadiah Stane, Howard’s ex-business partner, and my second in command of Stark Industries for a while before Pepper found out he was the one responsible for my sojourn in an Afghan cave” Tony stated it so matter-of-factly that Bucky was taken aback

“What happened to him?”

“Well, after he stole the arc reactor from me, he built his own Iron Monger suit and tried to kill me, nearly succeeded to, I’d be dead if it wasn’t for Pepper”  
Bucky felt a wave of anger then relief at his words, although he wasn’t quite sure why he’d got so angry, maybe Tony’s smaller stature reminded him a little of pre-serum Steve

 

“So yeah” the scene around them disappears and they’re back in Tony’s room at the compound, although they never left technically “that was my mom, and Howard”

“Was that a young Nick Fury?” Bucky was curious

“Yep, didn’t know it was him until just a few years ago, when Ultron forced us to flee to Clint’s farm. The man cares more for me than Howard ever did, and he’s the former head of the most clandestine spy agency on the planet”

 

Bucky can’t help but see Tony in a new light, a genius, but far more broken than anyone perhaps realised except for Rhodey and Pepper, and possibly Bruce. He wondered how much the other Avengers knew of this, Natasha had known him the longest out of the group, but how much she knew was anyone’s guess, she liked playing her cards close to her chest. Bucky wraps an arm around Tony’s shoulders.

 

“Thank you for showing me that Tony, it can’t have been easy”

Tony rests his head on Bucky’s chest and looks up at him “I figured you deserved to know Bucky” he winces when he shifts his head

“What’s wrong dollface?” Bucky frowned in concern

“BARF leaves you with a terrible electromagnetic induced headache” Tony can barely open his eyes without wincing at the light.  
Bucky places a gentle kiss on his forehead “Go to sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up”

Tony smiles gently at the kiss before drifting off to sleep.


	3. The Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its fluff time  
> a lil bit of angst at first but eh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again i had to use google translate for the spanish, its some mild swearing but nothing you wouldn't hear in an average PG-13 movie  
> also yeah Pete could probably work out the engineering puzzle by himself but he wants to spend time with his new father figure ok?
> 
> last chapter, although this is a fun concept so maybe i'll make it part of a series of shorts

A few weeks later, Bucky was helping Tony take the Christmas decorations down at the compound when Steve walked in. Tony hesitated when he saw Steve but smiled nonetheless.

 

“Hey Cap, what do we owe the pleasure to?” Tony hopped down from the ladder he was on, causing Bucky to wince slightly

  
“I’m not Captain America anymore, thanks to _you_ Tony” Steve scowled “You caused the Avengers to split Tony”

“Steve....” Bucky’s voice was dangerously low

“You hid the truth from me _hijo de puta_ ” Tony storms over to Steve and jabs a finger in his chest “I nearly killed Bucky because of you, you _culo obstinado auto justificado_ ”  
Bucky hid a smile behind his hand as he knew Steve wouldn’t know the Spanish, although he would get the gist of what he’d been called.

“Come on Tony, I- I didn’t want to hurt you”

“Yeah well, you did” Tony turns on his heel and walks away “Come on Buckaroo, we’re leaving”

“Coming dollface” Bucky smiles and waves at Steve before following Tony into the compound kitchen

 

Tony sits at the table and pours himself a cup of coffee before jumping in fright as Peter Parker drops from the ceiling

“Parker I swear to god!”

“Sorry dad I forgot I was in here! Hey Mr Barnes, White Wolf Winter Soldier dude man!”

“Sah dude” Bucky peace signs as Tony groans and his head hits the table

“Not you as well Buckaroo” Bucky and Pete laugh and sit either side of him

“What are you doing here kid? I thought pizza night was tomorrow”

“It is, but I wanted to swing by and ask you an engineering question for a quiz I’ve got tomorrow”

“Sure kid, ask away”

“If you had an infinite supply of water and a 5-liter and 3-liter bucket, how would you measure exactly 4 litres? The buckets do not have any intermediate scales. I can’t quite work it out myself” Pete smiles sheepishly

“Oh lord rule me out” Bucky jokes, making Pete laugh

“Well, it’s a good job you’ve got infinite water because a lot will be wasted. Fill the 5-liter bucket first. Then using that bucket fill the 3-liter bucket being careful not to spill any. This leaves 2 litres in the 5-liter bucket. Now chuck away the water in the 3-liter bucket and refill with the remaining contents of the bigger bucket. Once again fill the 5-liter bucket and fill the second 3-liter bucket. This will leave you 4 litres in the 5-liter bucket” Tony becomes more animated as he is explaining the method, Bucky watches him and can’t help but fall that little bit more in love with him.


End file.
